Meet the Millers

Nemesis TS

Nemesis TS

Well-known member
Meet The Millers

I'll be brief as time is not on my side today. Completed this film from idea to upload in two weeks. One being a Holiday weekend which didn't help, but its finished....enough.

Lot of firsts on this project. First time using the 5D, first time editing with Premier Pro and first time using Soundbooth which isn't a bad program. This was really rushed to get it done in time. No BTS video at this time, hope that doesn't disqualify us. We can do one next week if needs be. I'm leaving on a trip in a couple hours and need to pack and get ready. So the poster will have to wait too.

Look forward to some feed back. I made a ton of mistakes.... again. But, it was really fun to do.

Thanks for checking it out.
 
I flat out loved this film. You have a few glitches and weak edits in there, but man this is really like something I would watch on tv or a scene from a movie. I'll write more later, but first impression is "impressive".
 
Spoiler:
SPOILER REVIEW
The good: The cop stopping the door from closing, and the audio that went with it. Really pulled me in here. The death of the first cop was good. Reminded me of that terrible scene at the end of Saving Private Ryan where he tells him to "shhh." Nice twist at the end. Really pulled it together for me.

The not as good: Weird cut to his expression around 0:52. Not sure why this is so weird to me, but something doesn't feel right about it. A couple of shots were soft. The "you smell something? Neither do I" line felt like he was trying to make a joke, but it didn't fit the mood. Weird cut around 2:17. I've never seen cops give handcuffs to someone and trust them to cuff himself.

Overall, I'd say your two policemen were your strongest actors.
 
Solid entry. I was engaged. Acting was great all around. Were those real cops?

Spoiler below, highlight to read:
Audio issues in the way of echo here and there, get that mic as close as possible. Focus issues here and there but I'll point towards a stylistic choice. Lighting was a bit high key. There was a weird edit in there like a phantom few frames.
After watching some of these...you can sort of predict the twist. He said 'my wife' too many times. Take that expectation and go a step further.
 
Really, really good film. There were some jump cuts that were kind of awkward, but that's an easy fix. The audio sounded not clean. Sounded like the on camera mic. Other than added some better sound effects this was very well done. Nice camera work and the acting was very, very good. I enjoyed it!
 
I like how the movie made the most of it's location, they moved throughout the house and went room to room, it adds interest. Solid twist ending.
 
Thanks for the kind words guys, I appreciate your feedback.
I've had some issues viewing the entry. I noticed after it was too late that one scene's edits were really out of whack. I edited and then added the leader just before uploading. Premier Pro kept adding the leader to the back of the sequence, so I must have tweaked the edit messing around trying to add the leader.
There are some jump cuts that I just didn't have any other choice, we shot this in one night and I didn't get all the shots I needed and just dealt with what I had.... not to mention I'm not great at editing.

Hawk, I agree with you on the handcuffs. But, I have seen it in other movies and figure Hollywood sets the standard so I left it.

Mobie540, those were not real cops, but they sure looked it wearing those very real looking uniforms.

Marlon, wow thats some praise from a seasoned guy, thanks man. The audio was the disappointment, I have an awesome boom mic, but since I used the 5D I didn't have a way to use it as it requires phantom power. At least I think thats why it didn't work. So I used the Camera mic. I know terrible. My buddy who does sound was going to help me out, but the timeline was too tight. I did my best, but it really needed more TLC.

Matt, flat out loved it? WOW! Thanks brotha I appreciate that. We had open range on the house and I used as much of it as I could. Thanks for checking it out man.
 
This one flowed very well in my book, agreed the cops acting much stronger than leading actors. If i remember correctly the audio when cop was at the front door erked me, but overall good entry Nemesis!

Rogan
 
Really good film, especially with all those firsts and the tight timeframe! :thumbsup:
The look, feel, acting, sound design and score...all on point. I got that "Natural Born Killers" vibe...spooky.

Spoiler:
Breakdown nit-picks:
- 640x480 was kind of small....it looked much better on my big screen then on the computer.
- Police were good, but having been involved in police training, there were a LOT of mistakes and those cops were dead before they even entered the house.
- The lights were off in the house...then magically on when the door was answered.
- "nine-eleven" should have been "nine-one-one"...two completely different things.
- funky edit in there...which you explained
- BEST SHOT OF THE FEST... the cops face bouncing across the floor as he's being dragged! MONEY shot.
- Bedroom... looked like a basement (no carpet)...then the room didn't jive. Did you use a few different rooms?

Anywho... Great little film. Congrats to the cast & crew!
 
Thanks Rogan.

Thanks for the feed back Zaza. I had issues uploading, I actually uploaded twice not sure which one was used, but the first was a very small file size. I've never been good when it comes to compressing the movies down to 100mb.

The guy turns the light on when he opens the door. I should have had him open the door then turn the light on. I had the same impression you did and I was there.... Dang it.
We used different rooms, but not different bedrooms. The carpet was being replaced so it was just cement. We don't have basements in california. lol.
 
Intriguing film.

I liked your actors a lot. They all felt natural. I especially liked both of the cops. They both had a great look and intensity.

I also liked the use of jump cuts and repetition in the edit - it gave the film a dangerous and edgy feel (although there is a random shot at 2:17).

However, I did have two issues with the story:

- The first cop starts out smart, he suspects something's up - he doesn't smell anything - he sees the guy doesn't know his way around the kitchen - he hears a noise upstairs and then, he turns his back on the man. That cop felt smarter than that to me.

- The twist with Ms. Miller was surprising, but it didn't make a lot of sense to me - it felt a bit forced.

Still, I really liked the opening here and I think with a slightly different ending this could be really great.
 
This was an interesting piece. The cops didn't follow normal protocol. The one guy wouldn't have went alone if he had a partner and the other would've handcuffed him himself. The killer dudes performance bordered on cheesy at first, I don't think he would've been so goofy initially. There was that weird jump cut that Chris mentioned above. The twist was fine for me, but some foreshadowing would've made it better. nice job. Not sure why it was exhibition only though.
 
Thanks Chrises? Chris', Chris'es.... Hmm Thanks Cry! Assuming the plural of Chris are Cry.
Anyway thanks for checking out the movie guys.

CM: that odd edit was a mistake that happened just before upload. It was fine then after having some issues with adding the leader I messed up the edit some how.

CK: I'm surprised a few people have mentioned the ill tactics of these officers. I've got to give the audience more credit next time. Stupid me figured Hollywood already blew so much that I could get away with it. Live and learn.

Thanks for watching.
 
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